by Julia Sykes
“What’s going on now is you’re going to drink some water.” Derek took a cup from the table beside my bed and placed the straw at my lips. I obediently took it into my mouth and drank. “Then you’re going back to sleep. You’re in the hospital. The doctor said you punctured a lung and lost a hell of a lot of blood. You’re going to be fine, but you have to rest.” He shot a glare over his shoulder. “Which means they’re leaving.”
I followed his eyes to find a crowd of people hovering just outside the door. Well, there weren’t actually that many people. There were just three large men who took up enough space to block my view of the hallway. Reed, Clayton, and Kennedy all wore matching expressions of concern as they regarded me carefully, taking inventory of my wellbeing.
I turned my face away from the water, allowing the straw to drop from my lips. My mouth no longer parched, my voice came out sounding almost normal.
“Don’t go. I want to know what’s happening.”
The men didn’t move. Instead, Kennedy looked to Derek. I realized with a jolt that my boss was seeking his permission.
“I want you to stay.” The words were directed at my friends, but I looked to Derek, too. I could snap at him to back off and tell him he wasn’t the boss of me, but I knew he just had my safety and comfort in mind.
After a moment, he nodded. “Just for a little while. And only because I know you’ll get yourself worked up over not knowing what happened. You have fifteen minutes.”
Kennedy nodded his agreement and approval as he stepped into my hospital room. It seemed much too small to fit the four large men, but somehow it managed. I felt crowded in by them, but not in an uncomfortable way. Their hulking presences made me feel cared for, protected. That didn’t grate on me like it might have before I met Derek. Instead of irritation, I just felt gratitude and affection.
“What’s going on with the Kings?” I asked quickly. “Did we take out the Muertos?”
Kennedy grimaced. “Not quite. Ortiz is dead, Reyes is in a coma, and the other two Kings who were at Decadence last night aren’t talking. Although one of them has a broken jaw thanks to Clara, so that might change in the future. The good news is, you killed that fucker Jonas.”
I glanced over at Derek to gauge his reaction to the pronouncement that his father was dead. His face was a careful blank.
“You stopped the alliance with the Russians and left a power vacuum within the tribe. Santiago is trying to step into Jonas’ place and take control. If he succeeds, we’ll have everything we need to take them out, and possibly enough to destabilize several other tribes as well.”
I nodded, absorbing that information. “But what about the Russians? They got away, didn’t they?”
“Yes,” Kennedy confirmed. “But we’re looking for them. Clara Peterson is particularly keen to find the man Jonas addressed as Dimitri. When she heard how he talked about his sub, she became very insistent that she be included in the investigation.”
I remembered what Clara had told me about her abusive ex trying to take away her safe words. If she had heard the audio of Dimitri gloating over having taken them from his slave, then I fully understood why she felt a personal connection to the case.
“And Charlotte?” I pressed. “How is she?”
Derek’s hand tightened around mine as his muscles flexed, and he glared wordlessly at Kennedy. The men had obviously already had this discussion.
“She’s still with Javier,” Kennedy told me. “It would look suspicious if she left the Kings now, right after Jonas’ death. Santiago would look weak if he let her go back to Derek. She’s safe with him for now. Clayton just went to check in on her.”
Clayton nodded in affirmation, but his lips were a thin slash. Something was troubling him about the situation. He probably didn’t approve of the fact that Kennedy was leaving Charlotte with the Kings, but he wouldn’t say anything against his boss.
“I’m staying on the case with the Kings,” Reed supplied to break the tension. “I’ll be keeping a closer eye on the Muertos and I’ll be trying to figure out how the hell they were tipped off that we were FBI. They knew to run just before we hit the place.”
“Am I missing the party?” Smith’s words were lighthearted, but they were heavy with weariness.
I looked up to find him standing in the doorway, and I let out a little gasp. I had never seen him look so haggard. Rough around the edges, yes, but not… shattered.
“What the hell happened to you?” I demanded. “You look like shit.”
His wry smile was more of a grimace, and it didn’t quite reach his eyes. “Back at you,” he said, with a pointed gesture at my hospital bed. “I just came by to make sure you’re okay. I’m glad to see you’re well enough to insult me. You’ll be up and kicking my ass in no time.” He raked a hand through his already disheveled black hair, and his eyes turned inward. He was distracted, disturbed. “Listen, I have to go. I’m glad you’re all right, Sharon.”
And with that, he turned and left.
“What’s wrong with him?” I asked the guys.
Clayton’s lips twisted in disgust. “He found a woman at Decadence who’s been abused. She had been whipped bloody and was going into withdrawals. As far as I know, he hasn’t left her side since the bust. She’s going through detox now.”
Derek’s hand tightened on mine again at the mention of the woman. His eyes burned with that sense of chaos that robbed him of the control he so desperately needed. He was obviously deeply disturbed that the woman had been in his club. There couldn’t have been a crueler sign that the safe haven he had built was destroyed.
“Hey,” I said softly, calling his attention away from his turmoil. “It’s over now. Everything will be okay.”
He nodded curtly, but his stony expression told me he wasn’t ready to believe it. He was too afraid it wasn’t true. I would just have to prove to him that we could set his world right again. He could find the peace he needed with me at his side.
“Thank you for inviting Garrett and Gemma to Decadence on the night of the bust, Derek,” Clayton cut in to distract Derek from his black mood. “I appreciate you giving me the opportunity to personally arrest the fuckers who drugged Rose.”
Some of Derek’s tension eased as Clayton reminded him that he had done some good. “I was happy to help with that.”
“And you’ll get your club back soon,” Kennedy reassured him. “We need to do a shit ton of paperwork to get you cleared and process the fuckers who were using at Decadence, but I’ll make sure your licenses aren’t permanently revoked.”
“Thank you.” Derek’s voice was still a bit clipped, and his hard expression let me know that he was still angry with my boss for keeping him from his sister.
Despite my interest in all this new information, my jaw split in a wide yawn. I wasn’t sure how long I had been unconscious, but a few minutes of lucidity had left me suddenly exhausted.
“Right. I think that means our time’s up,” Kennedy said before Derek could kick them out.
I thought about protesting, but I really was tired. “Will you be back?” The question was a touch anxious, colored by the wave of emotion washed over me. The guys really cared about me, and I had almost left them forever. Now that I truly understood them and accepted every part of their natures – even the overbearing Dominant part – I didn’t want to waste one more minute being annoyed with them or pushing them away.
Clayton smiled at me warmly. The sight didn’t give me the butterflies it once would have, but it did fill me with a rush of affection. “Of course,” he told me. “If Derek allows it.”
My hand became a vice around his, a silent warning. “He’ll allow it.” There was a limit to how much control I was willing to give him.
Kennedy chuckled. “I’m glad to see Carter hasn’t broken you of your sass. I would have missed it.”
My mouth almost fell open. I thought my boss hated it when I questioned his authority. I realized that my determination to save Derek had gi
ven me the courage and drive I needed to defy Kennedy when it really mattered. And the appreciative light in his eyes let me know that he respected me for it. My submission to Derek hadn’t made me weaker; it had made me stronger.
“I wouldn’t have her any other way.” Derek’s lips twisted up in a small smile, and his eyes glowed with intense emotion. The sight of it took my breath away.
“We’ll see you later, Sharon.” I was aware of Reed squeezing my shoulder before my friends shuffled out of the room, but I couldn’t tear my gaze from Derek’s.
“I fucking love you.” I remembered his last words to me before I had lost consciousness. Of course his declaration of love included an expletive. I grinned up at him like a fool.
“I fucking love you, too, Derek.”
He threw back his head and laughed. It was a rich, joyous sound. He was still laughing when he brought his mouth down on mine. He was more gentle than usual, but his lips were still fierce. I tried to lean up into him, craving more, but he pulled away. His fingers wound into my curls, holding my head against the pillow.
“Don’t move,” he ordered. “You’ll hurt yourself.”
Before I could protest that I wanted him to kiss me properly, his lips brushed against my neck, starting at my ear and working their way down to my collarbone. My soft moan wasn’t one of pain. Then his teeth sank into the sensitive flesh where my neck met my shoulder. I gasped, and my eyes flew wide.
“You’re biting me!” I cried, a little shocked by the sudden flare of sweet pain.
His hot tongue pressed against my skin, giving loving attention to the area he had bitten.
“I would do so much worse if I could.” His chuckle rumbled over me. When he pulled back from me, his golden eyes shone with possessive light. “I warned you I would tan your hide if you let anything happen to yourself. As soon as you’re fit enough, you’ll receive my discipline. I can promise you won’t be able to sit for a week without feeling remorseful.” His fingers tightened in my hair. “Then maybe you’ll remember to never, ever do anything like that again.”
Warmth flooded my chest at his fierce protectiveness. I knew he meant every word he said. He would always take care of me, cherish me. And that meant accepting his punishments as well as his praise. My body burned in anticipation of his correction, for the structure he would provide in my life. My job was dangerous, and I couldn’t always control all the variables. Last night had proven that. But Derek wouldn’t allow me to blame myself when things went wrong. When guilt threatened to weigh me down, he would take it from me.
“I fucking love you, Derek,” I told him again with a smile.
He grinned down at me, his features alight with wild joy that matched my own. “I fucking love you, too, Sharon.”
Epilogue
Derek
Six Weeks Later
“I do like seeing my marks on you.” My voice came out low and rough as I caressed Sharon’s bare ass. She shivered at the little flares of pain when my palm pressed against the bruises left by the cane. It had been three days since I gave them to her in reprimand for getting herself hurt, but the ghost of my discipline lingered on her skin. She was marked, mine. “Did you learn your lesson?”
I applied more pressure, and she fell against my bare chest with a little squeak. Her torso melded to me, her soft, full breasts pressing against me. My cock hardened against her belly at the feel of her peaked nipples.
Fuck, she was perfect. Her submission was honest, pure.
She moaned against me, and her eyes went glassy as her hot little body writhed. I wondered if she realized she was seeking stimulation from me or if it was pure instinct that drove her. I enjoyed her need for a few seconds before I called her attention back to my question. I squeezed her ass to sharpen her focus and pull her back to me.
“Did you learn your lesson?”
“Yes, Sir.” My title was husky, lustful. It made my cock jerk, but I wanted more from her.
My fingers curled beneath her chin, lifting her stunning face to mine. The open honesty I found in her rich brown eyes made me even harder. “I want you to call me Master from now on.”
“Yes, Master.”
My thumb traced the line of her lower lip. I stared down at her, completely captivated. “You’re so beautiful.”
A roguish grin broke out on my face. I had carefully planned this night, and I was sure my little sub had no idea what was in store for her. “You know how I like beautiful things.”
Her breathing turned fast and shallow, and her pupils dilated. “So do I,” she breathed.
My grin widened, and I reached over to the bedside table to retrieve the first of her presents. “I own something pretty.” I pulled her against me a little more tightly to emphasize my meaning. “So I got some pretty things for you, too. It’s only fair.”
Her lips parted and her breath quickened at the sight of the little silver tweezer clamps in my hand. Thin, delicate chains hung down from them. The emeralds that dangled at the ends would look beautiful against her luminous skin.
I took a step away from her so I could caress her breasts, tracing the outer curve of them with my fingertips. She gasped and arched into me when my hands closed around them, squeezing and massaging. I reveled in the weight of them in my grasp. Soft and beautiful, like everything else about my sub.
When her nipples tightened against my palms, I pulled back. She whined at the loss, and I chuckled. My girl was so greedy for my touch. It almost made me feel bad about denying her. Almost.
I slipped the first clamp over her right nipple, working it over the hardened bud. She hissed as I tightened it, but she didn’t pull away. I loved the way she accepted the pain I gave her, falling into it rather than fighting it. The other clamp followed quickly. I admired my handiwork, flicking the little emeralds. She gave a delicious little gasp, and the light caught the facets of the gems, sending green sparks dancing over her skin. They were every bit as sexy as I had imagined they would be.
I reached for her next gift. Slowly, I lifted the sea foam green plug to her face so that she had no option but to study it. An emerald colored stone was set into the base of it.
“Derek.” I loved her little shocked gasp, the mix of fascination and trepidation in her eyes. “That’s too big. I can’t take that.” She protested, but I already saw the stirrings of acceptance, of submission, in the softening of her mouth.
“It’s not bigger than me.” I leaned into her, allowing my lips to tickle across her ear as I spoke. “I want to adorn my pretty little sub. And you won’t deny me, will you.”
It wasn’t a question. I loved the way she shivered.
“No, Master,” she whispered. “I won’t deny you.”
I almost groaned at her soft surrender.
Gripping her hips, I turned her body so that she faced my bed. She bent forward when I pressed my hand between her shoulders, directing her to brace herself on the mattress with her hands. Her ass was thrust upward in offering to me, waiting to accept her present. Despite her worries, she was sweet, compliant. She trusted me as completely as I trusted her.
I spread lube over the large toy, allowing the tension to draw out until she was practically shaking in perverse anticipation. She wanted to be plugged as much as she feared it. I had once promised her she would beg me for my cock up her ass, and I had quickly trained her to love being filled.
When I first pressed the tapered tip to her asshole, she clenched with her worry. My hand cracked across her ass in reprimand.
“Don’t keep me out. Relax.”
With a final shudder, her body went soft and supple. I stroked my palm over the reddened skin where my hit stung her, and she groaned her pleasure. I pressed the plug to her again, and this time it slipped in. I fucked her with it gently, gaining ground with each short thrust. Soon, her fingers twisted in the sheets and her face pressed into the mattress, muffling her cries. She pushed back against me, taking what I demanded of her. She was so giving, so utterly under my contro
l. It was the most intoxicating thing I had ever known.
My moan mingled with hers as I slid the plug home. I fingered the large gem, and she squirmed beneath me.
“So pretty.”
I reached forward and gently gripped her shoulders, pulling her upright. She let out a satisfying mewling sound when the plug shifted within her and the jewels on her nipples swayed. My chuckle was darkly amused at her erotic discomfort.
I gently swept her gorgeous, glossy curls over her shoulder and planted a soft kiss on her nape.
“Kneel.”
Gingerly, she got to her knees. She whimpered when she widened them, the plug tormenting her as she found her slave pose.
I had one last gift for her. It was a gift she would give me as well.
My hand trembled slightly with my own excitement when I retrieved the silver collar from the table. It was studded with emeralds. I loved the way the deep green flashed against her skin. I would introduce her to Decadence like this when my club reopened. I couldn’t imagine anything more decadent than my beautiful sub wearing nothing more than my kinky jewelry.
Her eyes gleamed when she recognized the slim silver band I held.
“I love you, Sharon. I want you to be mine forever.” My voice was husky with the depth of my emotion. “Will you take my collar?”
“Yes, Master.” The words left her smiling lips almost before I finished asking the question. “I love you, too. I want to be yours. And I want you to be mine.” Her voice broke with her deep joy, and I fell into her melted chocolate gaze.
I grinned at her. “I’ve been yours since you first wobbled into my club in those ridiculous boots.”
She gave a watery laugh. “I hated those boots.”
“So did I. But I loved introducing you to your submissive side. I’m so honored that you accepted me.”
“Thank you for showing me that I needed it. I’m so happy with you, Derek.”
I had to give her an order before my voice broke, too. “Lift your hair for me.”
